1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pluggable connector assembly for printed circuit boards including a mounting rail of generally U-shaped cross-section having a horizontal base portion connected with one face of the printed circuit board, and a pair of vertical arm portions extending upwardly from the base portion, a terminal block mounted transversely across the upper ends of the rail arm portions, and means electrically connecting a contact on the terminal block with a conductive layer arranged on the remote side of the printed circuit board via a conductive pin and socket arrangement that extends downwardly in spaced relation through a opening contained in the rail base portion, and through a corresponding opening contained in the printed circuit board.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
It is well known in the patented prior art to mount an electrical terminal block on a mounting rail, as disclosed by the U.S. patents to Piperato U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,029, Kordt et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,835, Eggert et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,881, and Schmidt et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,172 among others. The Geisler patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,152 discloses an electrical contact that can be mounted on a printed circuit board.
A need has developed in the electrical connector art to provide a connector arrangement for electrically connecting the electrical contacts of various types of terminal blocks in a quick, robust manner with the conductive layer portions of a printed circuit board. The present invention was developed to provide such a connector arrangement that is operable to connect various types of terminal blocks with various types and patterns of printed circuit boards, and with multi-contact connectors mounted thereon.